Syrian hamsters as a small animal model for SARS-CoV-2 infection and countermeasure development

TLDR

SARS‑CoV‑2 emerged in China and has rapidly spread worldwide. The study aims to develop effective vaccines and therapeutics for COVID‑19. SARS‑CoV‑2 efficiently replicates in Syrian hamster lungs, causing severe lesions similar to human COVID‑19 pneumonia, elicits neutralizing antibodies that protect against rechallenge, and passive convalescent serum reduces viral replication, establishing hamsters as a valuable model for vaccine and therapeutic evaluation.

Abstract

Significance Since SARS-CoV-2 emerged in China, it has spread rapidly around the world. Effective vaccines and therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2−induced disease (coronavirus disease 2019;COVID-19) are urgently needed. We found that SARS-CoV-2 isolates replicate efficiently in the lungs of Syrian hamsters and cause severe pathological lesions in the lungs of these animals similar to commonly reported imaging features of COVID-19 patients with pneumonia. SARS-CoV-2−infected hamsters mounted neutralizing antibody responses and were protected against rechallenge with SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, passive transfer of convalescent serum to naïve hamsters inhibited virus replication in their lungs. Syrian hamsters are a useful small animal model for the evaluation of vaccines, immunotherapies, and antiviral drugs.